What would our lives be without mothers? After all, they’re the bearers and deliverers of life, the ultimate caretakers and the superheroes who always seem to be there in time of need.
Ahead of Mother’s Day on May 10, the Upper Keys Weekly heard from a number of local moms who reflected on their journeys. They spoke on those challenging moments, the lessons learned along the way and the times their hearts grew warm.
Amanda Zischka
What’s one thing motherhood made you better at overnight? Prioritizing what truly matters. Many of the things I thought were important before having kids just don’t hit the same way anymore.
The moment I said I can handle this … Leaving the hospital with a newborn baby.
The moment I realized I don’t have this … First night at home with a newborn baby.
What’s something your child does that melts you every time? When one of them talks to me about their day, an upcoming event or anything that is going on in their life.
Abigail Doxey
What’s one thing motherhood made you better at overnight? Being present, even in small moments.
What’s the biggest lie you believed about being a mom? That asking for help means you’re struggling.
What’s a moment you thought, “OK … I’ve got this”? And one where you absolutely did not have it? The first time I solved a meltdown calmly instead of panicking and the first time my child was truly inconsolable.
Alex Hansen
What’s one thing motherhood made you better at overnight? Motherhood has made me a better human being, but I’d have to say specifically multitasking, patience and problem solving.
What’s a moment you thought, “OK… I’ve got this”? And one where you absolutely did not have it? By the second baby I had the baby stage down packed. Anytime he cried I knew exactly what I needed to do to fix it. You realized you’ve learned your child, you’ve got it. And a time I absolutely did not have it, I was traveling alone with all five kids to their grandparent’s house in central Florida (five hours away). Needless to say, it was pure chaos.
What’s a rule you swore you’d never have. … but now enforce daily? “No dessert until you eat real food” I am a huge dessert lover and hated when my parents made me eat my food first. Now it all makes sense.
What’s something your child does that melts you every time? When they say “I love you” “thank you mom” “You’re the best”, or “this dinner is 10/10 mom.” It’s always the unprompted statements of affection or appreciation that get me every time. It reminds me I may be doing something right.
Audra Hill
What’s one thing motherhood made you better at overnight? Not taking life so seriously. I want my girls (Quinn, 7, and Emory, 5) to be happy and confident, more than anything. So, if there’s an opportunity to laugh or dance or act silly, we take it! We don’t care who is watching!
What’s the biggest lie you believed about being a mom? That I would always have the answers to their questions. They are VERY INQUISITIVE and sometimes, I don’t have the answers and that’s OK. Also, sometimes what I thought I believed doesn’t turn out to be true after hearing their perspective and talking it through.
What’s a rule you swore you’d never have … but now enforce daily? Sometimes, the only way to get them to take a shower is a “popsicle shower.” Who knew eating a popsicle in the shower would be so appealing.
Barbara Overton
What’s the biggest lie you believed about being a mom? I always thought my kids would be just like me. It turns out that they are wonderful, unique people who don’t always do things “my way.”
What’s a moment you thought, “OK … I’ve got this”? And one where you absolutely did not have it? I loved the time my husband was out of town for a few days so the kids and I did “progressive dinners” in the house (pizza in the pool, linguini in the living room, etc.) I absolutely did not have it on an airplane trip when our daughter was about 2. She was crying most of the way. No one was happy on that plane!
What’s something your child does that melts you every time? It’s awesome when my two kids, who live in different cities, get together and send me a picture! I love that they enjoy being together.
Brie Conway
What’s one thing motherhood made you better at overnight?
Being patient.
What’s your most-used phrase at home?
Recently it’s been “are there any Amazon packages outside?” since I have a little girl on the way.
What’s something your child does that melts you every time?
When Lucas says to me “I love you, mommy.”
Cindy Ed
What’s one thing motherhood made you better at overnight? Packing for a trip like a survival expert. I’ve gotten pretty good at packing an arsenal of “just in case” items, that believe it or not have always come in handy at some point during our vacation.
What’s the biggest lie you believed about being a mom? “You’ll feel prepared when the baby comes.” That literally never happened. I always felt like I was underwater or two steps behind. If it were a boat race, the baby would have been in a Grady-White! But I’ve always had great friends that reassured me they too felt the way I did, and we were all in that rowboat together.
What’s a moment you thought, “OK … I’ve got this”? And one where you absolutely did not have it? I successfully got everyone ready and out the door on time for the annual homeowner’s park Easter Egg Hunt. Both girls were dressed in their beautiful new Easter dresses, hair was meticulously styled and we all headed out the door, baskets in hand, exactly on schedule for the big hunt. The only problem was the Egg Hunt was next Saturday.
Corie Abel
What’s the biggest lie you believed about being a mom? When they say it’s the most wonderful time of your life. It’s cool, but not always glamorous like they make it out to be.
What’s a moment you thought, “OK … I’ve got this”? And one where you absolutely did not have it? Working on Odyssey of the Mind skits( not many will remember those…lol)
What’s a rule you swore you’d never have… but now enforce daily? Times for things, like dinner and bedtime. I realized I needed the time to plan for my own things so I had to enforce these.
Courtney Lovell
What’s one thing motherhood made you better at overnight? I can’t pinpoint a single thing I’ve mastered overnight; motherhood feels more like a marathon than a sprint. However, over the years, I’ve definitely grown to be more patient. It’s a quality I wasn’t born with, but becoming a mother has taught me the value of patience.
What’s the biggest lie you believed about being a mom? When I was pregnant with my second child, someone told me, “Having two children is basically the same as having one. You’re already doing the work.” That turned out to be false! In reality, it’s quite a challenge handling two completely different personalities. And don’t even get me started on the hectic, same-day sports schedules they had when they were younger!
What’s a moment you thought, “OK … I’ve got this”? And one where you absolutely did not have it? As a single mother, I’ve often had to give myself a pep talk, saying, “You’ve got this, Courtney!” even when I didn’t truly believe it. Despite how I felt, I pushed through challenging circumstances so my children wouldn’t see me falter. Motherhood is filled with moments like these, and as mothers, we have no choice but to endure — even when it feels like the universe is against us. I hope to teach my children that “they are stronger than their toughest days.”
Katie Markey
What’s your most-used phrase at home? We live by the golden rule: treat others the way you want to be treated.
What’s a rule you swore you’d never have … but now enforce daily? I didn’t think I’d be a “because I said so” mom — but some days, it happens.
What’s something your child does that melts you every time? When she shows up with a couple little flowers she picked on her walk from the bus after school — it’s the sweetest thing.
Jen White
What’s the biggest lie you believed about being a mom? The biggest lie about being a mom was that things needed to be done according to a playbook. We quickly learned we can make decisions based on what’s best for our child and family.
What’s a rule you swore you’d never have … but now enforce daily? A rule I swore I never have but enforce is “call your mother.”
What’s one thing motherhood made you better at overnight? One thing that motherhood made me better overnight was multi-tasking.
Lorie LaLonde
What’s one thing motherhood made you better at overnight?
Prioritizing what truly matters. You learn quickly that not everything deserves your energy and the things that do, deserve all of it.
What’s a moment you thought, “Ok … I’ve got this?” and one where you absolutely did not?
Watching my three kids support each other and show kindness to others without being asked.
Trying to manage three different schedules, work demands, emotions, and needs all at once and realizing I can’t do it perfectly. Those are the moments that humble you.
Most used phrase at home?
“If you do what is easy, your life will be hard. If you do what is hard, your life will be easy.” It’s a lesson I hope stays with them forever.
Kirrin Peart
What’s the biggest lie you believed about being a mom? Timelines — there is a timeline for everything. When in reality, each kid is different and meets milestones on their own terms.
What’s a moment you thought, “OK … I’ve got this”? And one where you absolutely did not have it? Probably both took place at the grocery store. One grocery trip she is an absolute angel sitting in the cart, smiling at everyone and waving to people. The next trip, she is losing her mind and crying because she wants to walk and push the cart instead of sitting in it. Each day is a mystery with a 2-year-old.
What’s something your child does that melts you every time? She has this little fox lovey (Mr. Fox) and if you ask Mr. Fox for a kiss or hug she will bring him to you and make the biggest kiss noise possible. After that she will point to her face and want Mr. Fox to give her a kiss.
Lauren Naughton
What’s one thing motherhood made you better at overnight? Wearing multiple hats! Being a working mom, running a department at Ocean Sotheby’s International Realty, I have to shift from mom mode to CMO mode to wife, and sometimes in a span of 30 minutes. I’ve learned how to utilize my time to its fullest and think I accomplish all of those roles much more efficiently since being a mom.
What’s a moment you thought, “OK … I’ve got this”? And one where you absolutely did not have it? I think the moment when I thought, that “Ok, I’ve got this” was when I successfully potty trained my daughter. An instance where I definitely did not have it was dropping her off at St. James those first few days; it was so hard to be separated and see her upset. (She loves it there, it’s the best and it was purely just the change that brought on the tears!)
What’s something your child does that melts you every time? That is by far, every time she says unprovoked “I love you Mama.”
Lindsey Lazcos
What’s one thing motherhood made you better at overnight? Patience. Motherhood didn’t make me perfectly patient, but it did give me more than I had before — which was basically none. It’s not perfect, but it’s progress, and I’ll take the win.
What’s the biggest lie you believed about being a mom? That it “takes a village.” I was always strong-willed and independent and believed I could do it all on my own but that’s totally wrong. I’m so grateful for my husband who is the true definition of a partner and for our family who is always willing to come watch the kids so we can enjoy occasional vacations just the two of us.
What’s something your child does that melts you every time? When my boys come running into our room in the morning and provide unsolicited cuddles for a good ten minutes. It’s the best.
Magda Bates
What’s one thing motherhood made you better at overnight? Trusting my instincts. You can read every book and ask every question, but the moment you become a mom, something clicks. You just know things — and that voice gets stronger every day.
What’s your most-used phrase at home? Besides “Did you brush your teeth?” it’s definitely “I love you” — said a hundred times a day, in a hundred different ways. And as often as I can, I remind them of a core value I live by:
“Life doesn’t always give you control … but it always gives you a choice.”
Like Viktor Frankl said, the last of human freedoms is choosing your attitude in any given circumstance. Some days, that choice looks like strength … other days, it simply looks like getting through.
Pero aquí vamos … echando pa’lante, con amor.
What’s something your child does that melts you every time? The way they still reach for me, whether it’s a hug, sitting close, or just wanting to talk. No matter how big they get, those little moments remind me they still need me … and that’s everything.
Maria Acevedo
What’s one thing motherhood made you better at overnight? Running a whole life like a CEO — my business, my home, my marriage, my child … all moving at once.
What’s the biggest lie you believed about being a mom? That everything would just fall into place. The truth is that you have to work on building it every day. Your home, your family, your business all with purpose.
What’s a moment you thought, “OK … I’ve got this”? When my daughter was born. The moment I held her, everything changed and I knew, no matter what, I was going to figure it out. That was my “OK… I’ve got this” moment.
What’s your most-used phrase at home? Miah, do this. … Miah, do that. … Miah, don’t.
Mary Sanchez
What’s one thing motherhood made you better at overnight?
You get good at just figuring things out as you go. Like the baby’s crying, you’re tired, something didn’t go as planned — and instead of panicking, you just handle it. You try something, adjust, try again and keep moving. You don’t have time to overthink it.
What’s the biggest lie you believed about being a mom?
That you’re supposed to have it all together. I thought good moms just knew what they were doing, had routines down, stayed patient, didn’t feel overwhelmed all the time. Reality is, most days you’re figuring it out as you go, second-guessing yourself, and just doing your best.
What’s something your child does that melts you every time?
When they come up and hug me and tell me they love me for no reason. Like I didn’t ask, nothing’s going on — they just come over, wrap their arms around me, and go right back to what they were doing like it was nothing. That gets me every time.
Shelby Morris
What’s one thing motherhood made you better at overnight? Jumping up out of bed immediately no matter how tired I was and being able to function on very little sleep! Motherhood is an immediate super power!
What’s the biggest lie you believed about being a mom? “Your life will change when you have kids.” I never understood what that meant until now and it is so for the better!
What’s something your child does that melts you every time? The times he smiles when he sees me.
Suzanne Holmquist
What’s one thing motherhood made you better at overnight?
Multi-tasking on a nuclear level. I’ve been running a full service chaos command center for nearly 20 years. I can mentally calculate how to get three different kids to basketball, volleyball and tennis all at the same time and show up to at least a little of each game while running a busy charter business, finishing off science projects at midnight and running a 24 hour snack center.
What’s a moment you thought, “OK … I’ve got this”?
When I was running a daddy/daughter dance at TVM and it was such a heartwarming, sweet night topped off when my husband and daughter won the dance competition
And one where you absolutely did not have it?
When I was running an end of year class beach olympics party for 40 fourth graders and thought it was going swimmingly until my son punched a kid on the nose in the middle of the relay race.
What’s something your child does that melts you every time?
I just love it when any of my three kids takes a moment to say thank you for something I’ve done. You know you are winning when your child is grateful.
Tania Gonzalez
What’s one thing motherhood made you better at overnight? You learn to get up, respond, make decisions, and keep things moving — even when you’re exhausted. It’s not glamorous, and it’s definitely not ideal long term, but that ability to push through and still show up develops almost overnight.
What’s the biggest lie you believed about being a mom? That it gets easier when they get older. It doesn’t! Older kids have harder things to deal with. The older they get the more they are away from you and you worry more. It’s easier in some ways but way harder when they start driving and are out and about all the time. Thank god for Life360.
What’s a moment you thought, “OK … I’ve got this”? And one where you absolutely didn’t have it? A moment that I absolutely said, “OK, I got this” was when I was spending six days a week at Key Largo park with Javier and Christian during baseball. It was tough but I managed to do it by myself and the boys had an amazing season! Made it all worthwhile.
A moment that I DIDN’T have it was my first flight home after Javier was born and I flew home with a 6-week-old by myself. I was a brand new mom, forgot to pack extra clothes in the diaper bag and got off the plane with him in just a diaper. Thank god my mom was waiting for me and she helped me. It was the longest flight ever!
